JURY ACQUITS MAN OF ASSAULT IN KEARNEY BEATING

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a man of a first-degree assault charge in connection with the severe beating of a Kearney man last year.

A Buffalo County judge read the not guilty verdict Wednesday for 29-year-old Jonathan Schmidt.

Schmidt was accused of helping to pull Jacob Magee out of a van last July. Prosecutors said Schmidt beat Magee and stomped on his head. He was later treated for injuries that included facial fractures and a broken nose.

The Kearny Hub reports Schmidt testified during his trial that he hit a man in the face during the incident, which involved several people. But he denied causing Magee’s injuries.

Schmidt’s public defender, John Marsh of Kearney, says the prosecution had trouble proving who caused Magee’s injuries.